Real Time View

It’s common knowledge within the NonStop community that Margo and I are building a new home. This time, it will not be in Colorado but rather, in Florida. Nothing political to report here as the catalyst for such a change of location has more to do with our health than anything else – heading to sea level is likewise almost as common knowledge as is the move itself. The home we are building in Florida will be the third home Margo and I have built. This time it will be a far cry from the first home we built but similar in that we are starting with an empty lot. Our second home was already a work in progress when we chose it but even so we watched as our chosen floorplan took shape between the frames. So yes, we know frameworks. For the NonStop community, frameworks often surface in discussions. When you enter the world of open source there are a myriad variety of options, all with the benefits and weaknesses. Many of the better software implementations we rely on today have been built a...

  Greeley, Windsor and Weld County under severe thunderstorm watch until 9 p.m. It was late at night last week when the house shook violently. After stepping out on to our patio deck, another round of lightning bolts crossed the sky and again, the shock waves reverberated for some time. Close calls? For those who like to time the interval between flash and thunder, it was almost instantaneous. We have entered fall, but still summer conditions prevail with daily temperatures climbing to 90F followed by an evening of unsettled weather bringing with it short-lived storm fronts. Photo above appeared in the nearby Greeley Times and was captured around the same time as I was standing on the patio deck. Unfortunately, I still haven’t mastered the settings on my iPhone that will enable me to snap a photo quite like that, although I tried several times. Entering fall after a period best defined as tempestuous and unlike any summer previously experienced, can we expect conditions to conti...

It has been only a matter of days since this year’s big tent user conference ended. The NonStop TBC2023 Conference drew attendees from all over the world, with every continent represented as best as I could tell. I am sure there will be those who remind me that as yet, no attendee has made it from Antarctica. Nevertheless, it was a clear demonstration of the value proposition this annual gathering of the NonStop community provides – did you make it this time? Right from the start we were able to enjoy the networking opportunities these conferences always seem to create. Whether you were attracted to the downstairs bar as escalators passed you by, or to the vendor pavilion where if you asked TCM nicely, a wee dram of Scotch could be sampled. And then there was the hospitality provided by the Presidential Suite sponsored by NTI and TANDsoft that managed to attract a crowd each night that fostered conversations that went past midnight and closer to the witching hour. For Margo and me ...

Driving along a desolate stretch of Interstate 70 taking us eastbound out of Utah, there is an exit that has intrigued us ever since 2006 when we began commuting between Colorado and California. On this recent occasion we were returning from the HPE Discover 2022 event in Las Vegas. At first sight and ignoring the reference to Emery, seeing the exit to Mussentuchit always gets us talking. Perhaps it is the exit to a cattle ranch seeking a unique identity. But just pronouncing it brought a smile to our faces – “Mustn’t Touch It” seemed pretty obvious. Margo and I smile as it seems to be an oblique reference to the history of NonStop and before that, Tandem Computers. For as long as both of us could remember, the mantra among many in the NonStop community on deploying a solution on NonStop was the warning to all others in IT that given the nature of the mission critical applications, no IT professional was to touch it. Interfere with its operations at your own risk. Connect it directly t...

Crossing the lines, stepping outside the box and even lining up incorrectly are all familiar warnings; for NonStop architects, lines on whiteboards or napkins oftentimes convey complexity that needs expertise to address … I have been involved with the building of three homes. With each home, the engagement differed as the starting place varied, but there was always a blueprint on hand. In the southern suburbs of Sydney, Lilli Pilli, the home was already standing and it was down to details. However, I did get to finish out the lower level, lay the bricks for the backyard retaining pool and come up with the design of the swimming pool.  As for my home in Niwot, North East of Boulder, I started with a blank piece of paper and took many months before settling on the final blueprint of my dream three-level home. Every detail was covered in those blueprints when breaking ground commenced, but even so, when it came time to move in, there were additional lines drawn on the orig...

Australia is a big country offering many options – we need to talk to others before deciding where to go; isn’t this true also of how we deal with the new, bigger NonStop product offerings? With as much time as we have spent these past few weeks in and around Sydney it seems we are still only scratching the surface when it comes to all that the city has to offer. Ask anyone what place or event is worth attending and the responses vary as widely as the landscape itself. Australia is truly “the big country” and if there are any Texans curious about the relative size of the states making up Australia, at 1,021,478 square miles Western Australia could be home to three and a half Texas size states. Even the state of Queensland could house two and a half Texas size states (and seven Great Britains, not to forget, five Japans). Making sure you see the best of Australia quickly becomes a head-scratching exercise for many visitors to its shores unfamiliar with the size of Australia.  ...

One of the big advantages that come with driving an RV is the view out front it provides – wouldn’t it be great if we had a similar view of what lay ahead for IT?  Summer is over, or so we are being led to believe. With the Labor Day weekend now behind us and our children and grandchildren off to school, those lazy, hazy days of summer are being replaced with milder temperatures. Or, are they? Camped here as we are in Arizona, a little to the east of Scottsdale, we have had to deal with daytime temperatures hovering around 105 Fahrenheit. Our Company Command Center’s AC units were no match for such conditions, barely dropping the interior temperature to the low 90s. Back in the township of Windsor, construction teams continue to work long into the afternoon even as there is little respite from the heat and convertibles continue to be seen on our highways. Through the years we have changed our vehicles regularly. We have always maintained two separate vehicles for business...